Medusa
"All monsters are hideous and fearful, but some are worse than others. There is only one whose hair is made of slithering serpents, only one with skin of scales, and only one whose very gaze can turn man, beast, or god to stone. Medusa, the Gorgon" A demigoddess daughter of the sea-gods Phorcys and Ceto and Medusa herself was a high-priestess of Athena. Loyal and devout in action, Medusa's near supernatural beauty prompted the people of Athens to make attempts at wooing her and would often come to Athena's temple simply to see Medusa, a fact which prompted Athena to grow resentful of her high-priestess. Of the men who wished to have the beautiful Medusa as their own, the most powerful was Athena's uncle and arch-rival Poseidon, the Lord of the Ocean who was determined to make her his own. It was the fairness of her features, the golden of her hair, that attracted the sea god. Using his divine powers, Poseidon made Medusa enter a dream-like state in which she succumbed to his advances while still within the temple of her mistress, Athena. Outraged at Medusa having had been seduced by her arch-enemy within her own temple, Athena punished the high-priestess by transforming her into the first gorgon. As a gorgon those fair features were hideously wrought and those golden locks twisted to hissing vipers. Anyone that met her eyes was petrified, a statue for all eternity. Begging for help from her lover Poseidon, the sea-god informed her that he only used her to spite Athena and that he had no use for her anymore, and with that he left the now hideous Medusa to her own devices. Punished by the gods and deemed a monster by mankind, Medusa fled Athens and was given her own small island far out in the ocean by her parents Phorcys and Ceto which she would rule as her own goddess, but this did not prevent Athena from sending warrior after warrior to her island in an attempts to slay the blasphemer out of pure vengeance, all of whom wound up killed by the scorned Medusa who used their petrified remains to decorate her island as a warning for all those who come across her home. For years she hid from the world, nursing a festering hatred for all things divine and mortal, craving beauty but having none, seeing none, until she became the monster she appeared to be. Medusa spent years on the island, with her only company being the occasional visit from her sisters Stheno and Euryale who were immortals that had willingly turned themselves into Gorgons so that they could be with Medusa, or a visit from her sister Echidna who was cold and cruel to Medusa back when they were children but now that she was a monster she showed particular interest in. Many warriors and hunters came on behalf of the Olympians in an effort to claim Medusa's head for their own but all fell victim to the gorgon's wrath, all except one named Perseus. Perseus was the demigod son of Zeus and he had come to the island to retrieve Medusa's head so that he might use it as a weapon in an upcoming battle of his. Unlike the other warriors, Perseus was blessed not only by Athena, but as well by his father Zeus, his uncle Hades, and his half-brother Hermes each of whom had given the warrior a different tool to use in his battle. Athena gave Perseus a mirror-like shield, Hermes gave him his winged sandals for swiftness, and Hades lent Perseus the helm of darkness so that he might blend in with the shadows themselves. Upon finding the island through threatening Medusa's sisters the Stygian Witches, Perseus turned himself invisible and used the shield given to him by Athena so that he could see Medusa's reflection without looking directly at her. Medusa did give up a fight, using her reptilian swiftness, abilities with the bow and arrow, and her well adept sense of smell to try and kill Perseus but the warrior's abilities were too great and she was ultimately murdered by his blade, decapitated in one slash of the sword so that he may make of with her head. Category:Beings Category:Monster Category:Mythology Category:Greek Category:Medusa Category:Chimeric